Brown Butter Apple Blondies - the chewy texture, the nuttiness of pecan nuts, the tartiness of granny smith apples, and the aftertaste of fall spices is a combination that leaves you reaching out for another one of these blondies.
I just love blondies. Have you tried my Maple Glazed Pumpkin Blondies or Banana Nut Blondies with Chocolate Frosting or these Colorful M&M Blondies yet?
These blondies are just like that but the brown butter makes them even better. I feel brown butter has that magnetism about itself. It can actually create a magical taste. 🙂
That nuttiness. That gorgeous smell. And, that caramel-y after-taste is all worth the effort. Taking about brown butter, have you tried my - Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies or Brown Butter Pecan Cookies yet? They are really good!
What are Blondies?
First, let's clear the air. What is a Blondie? And how is different from a Brownie?
Well, Blondies came before brownies. Blondies have a chewy texture while brownies have a fudgy texture. Blondies are just "blonde brownies". Basically, they are brownies without cocoa powder or chocolate. Blondies have a caramel-y and vanilla undertones while brownies have a chocolaty, rich, and fudgy texture.
Ingredients you need to make these Apple and Brown Butter Blondies
- Butter - of course, the star of the show.
- Apples - I use granny smith apples for their tarty taste and texture. If you want alternatives, then I would suggest, fuji apples, or Pink lady apples.
- Brown sugar - First we'll simmer apples in brown sugar. And later we need brown sugar for the blondie itself.
- Cinnamon - Of course we cannot imagine An Apple dessert without cinnamon in it.
- Nutmeg - I just love the smell of nutmeg. I use it in most of my fall desserts such as this Pumpkin Cheesecake Fudge or Gingersnap Crusted Pumpkin Praline Bars
- Salt
- Baking Powder - We need just a touch of baking powder to complete this recipe. Remember too much baking powder will make it cakey. And, we DO NOT Want that. We want a chewy texture.
- All-Purpose Flour - If you want to bake a gluten-free version of this blondie then you can use Almond flour.
- Egg & Egg Yolk: Eggs will give a nice fudgy texture to your blondies. Besides that, egg yolk will create a dense blondie.
- Vanilla - Just a touch of vanilla to make it smell really good.
How to Make Brown Butter Apple Blondies?
This overview will give you a brief idea of how to make these decadent Brown Butter Apple Blondies from scratch.
- Brown butter: As you might have guessed the first step is the brown butter. Read the next paragraph and learn how to make brown butter.
- Simmer Apples: I learned to do this from Sally's Baking Addiction. Basically, she did an excellent job of simmering the apples in the same pan with some brown sugar and cinnamon. So, basically what we are doing is making the apples sort of soft and tender. Why? Softer apples will release more intense and deep flavors. And what is the need for brown sugar and cinnamon? Basically, brown sugar is to slightly sweeten these apples. Do you remember I told you that I used granny smith apples. They are naturally tarty. Just to bring a little sweet undertone I added brown sugar. You can also add some maple syrup. Finally, the touch of cinnamon gives these caramel-y apples a beautiful spiced texture and aroma. Imagine them going into your blondies and making them so much better.
- Prep Dry Ingredients: In a bowl take some flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix this well. We need only these four ingredients as our dry ingredients for this recipe.
- Whisk in Wet Ingredients: Whisk in Brown butter, brown sugar, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Give everything a good whisk. AND, your blondie batter is ready. NO NO NO, WAIT... We forgot the star of the show - Apples!!! Fold in your apples and then we are ready. You will have a thick batter.
- Bake: Place this on a baking sheet and top with some chopped pecan nuts. And your brown butter apple pecan blondie is ready.
How to Make Brown Butter?
Brown butter is that excellent ingredient that brings magic into our recipes. Umm.... that fragrance, that dark gorgeous color, that caramel-y taste. I just can't seem to get enough of it. I am sure you love it too.
So, to make it, this is what we do.
Take butter (as much as the recipe calls for). For this recipe, I use 1/2 stick butter. Melt butter on medium-low heat and keep stirring occasionally. In about 5-8 minutes your brown butter will be ready. Keep a close eye on it. It will turn frothy and bubbly. And you will get a beautiful nutty smell from the butter. Once it turns brown take it off the heat and transfer it to another bowl. Use once it has cooled down completely.
TIPS to Make the Best Blondies?
So, if you are making a blondie for the very first time then these tips should be your bible. You must refer to them as often as you can so that you make the world's best blondie.
- Always use Brown Sugar to Make your Blondie. Both light brown sugar and dark brown sugar works well. But, I generally prefer light brown sugar. I think dark brown sugar makes it too damn sweet and I really don't like that. But, hey! You might like dark brown sugar. So, go ahead and add both light brown sugar and dark brown sugar. If you are adding only dark brown sugar your blondie will have a dark, rich, and caramel-y texture. Quite similar to these Super Fudgy Nutella Brownies
- When making blondies it's crucial to melt your butter before using it. In case you are making this exact same recipe, you will anyway have to melt butter because we are gonna be using brown butter.
- We'll add an extra egg yolk along with one large egg. Brownies and blondies aren't supposed to fluff up like a cake. They are supposed to be rich and fudgy. Hence an extra egg yolk gives it that dense structure. You can read more about it in this Salted Caramel Brownie recipe.
- Nuts are an important part of these blondies. Just like it is an important part of these Fudgy Walnut Brownies, or these Stuffed Baked Apples, or these Brown Sugar Maple Glazed Carrots with Spiced Nuts or these Candied Sweet Potatoes with Pecan Topping, Maple Glazed Apple Cider Pecan Muffins.
More Apple Desserts!
Why not use up the fresh apples?
- Classic Old Fashioned Apple Pie
- Southern Fried Apples
- Salted Caramel Apple Crisp Bars with Maple Glaze
- Caramel Apple Cinnamon Pecan Cobbler
- Caramel Pecan Apple Crumble Cheesecake
- Crunchy & Sweet Mini Condensed Milk Apple Tarts
Brown Butter Apple Blondies with pecan nuts
INGREDIENTS
Simmering Apples
- 2 Large Apples peeled and chopped (I used Granny Smith Apples)
- 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- ¼ Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
To make the Blondies
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter 2 sticks (230g) cut into cubes
- 2 and ⅓ Cup All-Purpose Flour 290g
- 1 and ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1 and ¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar 250g
- 2 large eggs one egg and one egg yolk
- 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350F or 180C. Grease a 9*13- inch baking dish with cooking spray and line with Parchment paper, with sides hanging out, which will help you get the blondies out, after they get baked.
- Add the Butter to a saucepan. Allow the Butter to melt over medium-low heat. As the Butter starts to melt, stir using a wire whisk or a spatula. The Butter will start to bubble, and get frothy. After about 3 minutes, the bubbling will stop. At this moment, stir again and your brown butter shall be ready. Take it out in a separate bowl and cool it down. It is advisable to do this step in a light-colored pan so that you can see the color of the butter changing. A dark-colored pan, will make it difficult to check the color of the butter, turning brown. (See video below for visual)
- In the same pan, add chopped Apples. Add the Brown Sugar and Ground Cinnamon. Stir over medium-low heat. Allow the Apples to soften for about 3-5 minutes over medium-low heat. Once done, take it out in a separate bowl. (See video below for visual)
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk Flour, Baking Powder, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Nutmeg, and Salt.
- To the Dry ingredients, add Brown Butter, Apples, Brown Sugar, Pure Vanilla Extract, Egg & Egg Yolk. Mix everything well, until combined, using a rubber or silicone spatula. The Blondie batter should be thick.
- Pour the Blondie batter into the baking dish. Add the chopped Pecans and some more chopped Apples. Press gently, the top of the Blondie batter using a spatula, so that the apples and pecans get stuck to the batter. Bake the Apple Blondies for 35 min. Once they get done, cool it down to room temperature and then cut it into even-sized squares, using a serrated knife.
- Cut the Blondies and Serve
Video
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can make the blondie batter. Wrap it up tightly using a plastic food wrap. Freeze it for up to 3 months. Before using, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. And, then bake.
- Storing Instructions: These blondies can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Keep the blondies in a freezer-safe container. Layer with parchment paper. Freeze this for up to 3 months. Before using, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Serve after cutting into squares.
Jennifer Torres says
Hi..I would love to make these without the apples..is that possible or would it need something else in place of the apples? Thank you.
Anjali says
Hi, Of course, you can make this without Apples. You can use Peaches or Pineapples or any other fruit or berry you like in place of Apples. The recipe shall remain the same. I like to use Peaches instead of Apples for the summer months 🙂